The life of Jobs

He's the co founder of Apple and Pixar -- but is Steve Jobs the real king of all media? Keep clicking to find out how a kid from Cupertino rose to the top of two of the world's most powerful industries.

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Steve Jobs was born in 1955, son of a Syrian-American college professor and an American woman, then unmarried. He was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, whom he considers his real parents. While still in high school, he got a summer job at nearby Hewlett-Packard Co., where he worked with another kid named Stephen Wozniak.

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Jobs spent an unprofitable semester at Reed College in Oregon before dropping out in 1972. For a while, he bounced around, joining the Homebrew Computer Club with Wozniak and working as a technician at Atari. He returned from a brief spiritual journey to India with a shaved head, wearing Indian garb. Years later, left, Jobs paid tribute to another inspiration, Sony co-founder Akio Morita, at a 1999 Apple event.

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The first "personal computer" was created in 1976 in the Jobs family garage by Jobs, 21, and Wozniak, 26. The first Apple sold for $666.66. By December 1980, Apple Computer was a publicly-traded company and the personal computer market was in its infancy. The Internet in its primitive form was several years away. A "mouse" was just a rodent. The original Apple is now in the Smithsonian. At left, a later model.

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Through the early 1980s, Apple continued to grow and innovate. Its successes culminated in the introduction of the MacIntosh, perhaps the first computer that looked like fun to a non-geek. Apple had its low points, too. Remember the Lisa? Neither does anyone else.

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Over the next few years, Apple Computer kept its innovative edge with uneven commercial success. Jobs brought in a more conventional business team to help him run the company. At left, in 1984, Jobs poses with new Apple CEO John Sculley. The next year, Jobs would lose a power struggle with his own board of directors and resign day-to-day responsibilities at Apple.

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Jobs soon launched a new computer company, NeXT. Its innovative personal computer was embraced by enthusiasts and arguably had a lasting influence on the industry, but never made it into the mainstream. A Wikipedia article notes that Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web at a NeXT workstation. At left, a NeXT circuit board on display Oct. 12, 1988 in San Francisco. Note: The NeXT boasted a 256 megabyte optical disk.

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Almost a sidelight in Jobs' career, computer animation studio Pixar was founded in 1986 with Alvy Ray Smith and Edwin Catmull. Their first film was the 1996 hit "Toy Story." Others included "A Bug's Life," 1998; "Monsters Inc.," 2001; "Finding Nemo," 2003, and "The Incredibles," 2004. Here, Dory and Marlin dodge a close encounter with a great white shark in "Finding Nemo."

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For most of its existence, Pixar co-financed and distributed its movies in a joint deal with Disney. That relationship hit the skids in 2004, as Jobs and then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner failed to see eye to eye on contract renewal terms. Jobs announced he would seek a partner elsewhere. Here, Buzz Lightyear leads the toys from Andy's room on a mission to rescue their pal Woody in "Toy Story 2."

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Meanwhile, Disney's legendary animation studio was drooping. One success, "Chicken Little," took in $248.9 million worldwide. But Pixar's "The Incredibles" racked up $631.4 million. Disney's live action movies are fared better. At left is Johnny Depp in the studio's 2006 summer monster-hit sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean."

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Still, the Mickey Mouse House remains a behemoth among American entertainment and media industries. In addition to the movie studio and its television, radio and Internet properties, its family resorts and cruise operations are expanding around the globe. At left, Disney stars Mickey and Minnie Mouse perform to Tchaikovski's "The Nutcracker" to launch the holiday season at Tokyo DisneySea on Nov. 7, 2005.

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Apple Computer and Jobs came back with a vengeance with the hugely successful introduction of the iPod music player in October 2001. At left, Bono of U2 is shown in a demonstration video on a Fifth Generation iPod with video at an Apple at The Grove in Los Angeles Jan. 18, 2006.

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The iPod's success led to a blizzard of announcements from media and entertainment companies heralding introduction of a wide range of programming for portable devices. On Oct. 12, 2005, in San Jose, Jobs showed an episode of "Desperate Housewives" as he unveiled a video iPod. By the way, "Housewives" airs on ABC, which is owned by Disney, whose biggest shareholder is ... Steve Jobs!

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On Jan. 19, 2006, Apple Computer announced record-breaking quarterly revenues of $4.3 billion. It sold 14 million iPods during the holiday season. "We are thrilled to report the best quarter in Apple's history," said Jobs. "We are working on more wonderful products for 2006, and I can't wait to see what our customers think of them." That day, Erykah Knowles, left, tried out a Power Mac G5 at an Apple store.

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After a flurry of rumors and weekend deal-making, the Walt Disney Co. announced that it would purchase Pixar Animation Studios for a little under $7 billion in Disney stock. As majority shareholder in Pixar, that makes Jobs the single largest shareholder of Disney as well. Here, fireworks explode over Disneyland Hong Kong late in 1995.

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In 2007, Apple entered the cellular phone business with the introduction of the iPhone, a multi-touch display cell phone, iPod, and Internet device. Hype for the gadget drove demand into overdrive for its June 29 U.S. release. A year later, the iPhone 3G hit the market.

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Steve Jobs unveils the new iPod Nano on Sept. 5, 2007. In 2004, Jobs announced he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Over the years, his appearance and slow delivery during speeches fueled rumors about his health. In Aug. 2008, his obituary was erroneously published. In a keynote speech in September, Jobs quoted Mark Twain saying, "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

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On Dec. 16, 2008, Apple announced that Jobs, shown introducing the Macbook Air at the January 2008 Macworld Expo, won't be taking the stage in 2009 when Apple delivers its final keynote address there. Jobs' speech is one of the industry's most-anticipated moments because he launches Apple's newest gadgets. One analyst says his absence means Apple doesn't have a major product to debut or Jobs is having health problems.

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs gestures during a product announcement in San Francisco on Sept. 9, 2008. Jobs, 53, returned to work June 29, 2009, after a five-and-a-half-month medical leave, during which he received a liver transplant.

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In a move that stunned tech watchers, Jobs resigned as chief executive of Apple Inc ion Aug. 24, 2011. The 55-year-old Apple co-founder and pancreatic cancer survivor has been on medical leave for an undisclosed condition since Jan. 17. Apple said Steve Jobs has been elected chairman and Tim Cook has been elected CEO. "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come," he said in a brief letter announcing his resignation.